Marketers Studio - David Berkowitz's Marketing Blog

Resources from the Location Based Marketing Summit Talk

I just was on a panel at the Location Based Marketing Summit in New York and wanted to share a list of resources I brought up (and a couple I should have brought up) for attendees in the audience. People who were there will have a little more context, but they should be relevant to most others interested in the topic. A couple may have even been brought up by fellow panelist Claudio Shapsis and/or moderator Allison Mooney, and at least one came from the audience.

Barcodes / Scanners / Image Recognition:

Microsoft Tag

ScanLife - plus their Barcode Trend Report (with 700% increase state)

NeoReader

Pongr

Payments:

Mobile Pay USA

Mobile Social Media

SCVNGR

iButterfly (Japan Pokemon-type mobile game)

My keynote talk last week on mobile social media:

 

Why Mobile Social Media Matters - Statistics, Trends, Technologies

View more presentations from David Berkowitz.

Other Resources:

360i's Mobile Marketing Playbook

360i's Mobile Marketing Playbook

 

 

Social Media Insider: CheckPoints Makes An End-Run Around Location

Today's column, which originally ran in MediaPost

I've got a riddle for you: What's the hardest part about location-based marketing? Here's a hint: It's not the marketing.

The challenge tends to lie in dealing with locations. This comes up all the time. Can locations accept mobile coupons? Does a brand have the right to run marketing around locations they don't own? For locations that are part of a chain, is the marketing the responsibility of the store owner or the corporate marketing group? While locations now offer compelling digital marketing opportunities thanks to advances in mobile media and devices, locations also cause a few wrinkles in some otherwise solid marketing plans.

Consider ShopKick, for example. In a recent Q&A on MediaPost, I was willing to peg Shopkick as the most overhyped mobile technology. As Shopkick has been the subject of stories in major media outlets from here to Botswana, it's easy to call it overhyped. The gist of the app is that you earn points by walking into select stores, which the app confirms by using the microphone to pick up an inaudible audio tone played by a speaker placed near a retailer's entrance. More points, dubbed "kickbucks," kick in when users take specific actions within the store such as scanning select products. Location is central to the app. The kickbucks only matter so much here, as I've made it to level six with over 400 kickbucks (in other words, I've used this app a lot) and still haven't earned a $2 Best Buy gift card. The app is still very new and can play a role in having consumers engage with locations and products, but it's not fully baked yet.

Yesterday, a new location-centric application called CheckPoints was announced that's designed to shift the framework of the experience. Instead of focusing on locations, CheckPoints works with brands, including launch partners Belkin, Energizer, Seventh Generation, and Tyson Foods. While users can check in at various shopping locations, the focus is on the apps' featured products. Scanning those products unlocks custom content and rewards. Here, the rewards are designed to be more tangible so it doesn't take too long to understand the benefits. Rewards can include airline miles and other offers not necessarily related to the items scanned.

Brands will be rooting for this app to work. I work with a number of consumer packaged goods brands, and I'm sure this will come up in conversation with several of them. If this app starts influencing users' purchase decisions, especially in ways brands can readily track, then brands will promote the app themselves. In essence, it will mark a transition of slotting fees to scanning fees. It's also worth noting that despite the differences between CheckPoints and Shopkick today, Shopkick can just as easily be used to promote products across a wide range of locations.

The limitations of product-scanning apps are numerous, and they're worth keeping in mind. The technological hurdles will be overcome within several years, but consumer behavior may not change as fast.

1)   Barcode scanners remain relatively niche. You need to keep narrowing the population from mobile phone owners to smartphone owners to application users to people who know how to work a barcode scanning application. The number of those folks is growing -- ScanLife just reported that scans with its app are up 700% this year -- but it's hardly everyone.

2)   It requires a shift in the consumer mentality. With print coupons, consumers sort through discounts that arrive at their door. Online, consumers find out about discounts by signing up for alerts such as email newsletters, discovering serendipitous deals through opt-in services such as Groupon, or hearing about deals via social channels. Barcode scanners require more active engagement on the consumer's part, so the value proposition will have to be clear, especially for low-consideration products.

3)   As Sophia from "Golden Girls" says, "Picture this." You're in your local Safeway trying to find your favorite brand of marinara sauce. As you're deciding between the brand with the extra basil and the rival brand with the extra oregano, someone's standing there scanning different jars' barcodes in search of a discount. Of course, she first has to find the application, make sure she has the right product, get the code properly in the camera viewfinder, and wait until the clouds scatter so she can get an extra bar of 3G wireless service. At that point, while she's trying to scan a barcode, her cart angled to take up three-quarters of the space in the aisle so you can barely pass by, you use your phone to Google "is it worth committing aggravated assault over a jar of pasta sauce?"

Consumer behavior is changing, and it will have to change to keep up with the increasing digital distribution of promotions and deals. Brands in general will benefit from this new genre of mobile applications, as the upside is significant compared to relatively modest costs to participate. The biggest hurdle is deciding which opportunities to focus on. Fortunately these marketers can make such decisions in the privacy of their own offices, not standing in the middle of grocery store aisles while waiting for the clouds to clear.

 

Why Mobile Social Media Matters - Download the Keynote Presentation

I had the honor yesterday of presenting a keynote address on mobile social media, and the best part is I can share it. As I mentioned in the post on 100+ lessons from 100+ events, it's hard to simply upload these presentations outright since they lose context, so I've edited and annotated the presentation. Sources for images along with URLs appear in the notes field both on SlideShare and in the downloadable version. 

I welcome any feedback you have. If you want to share the presentation, I also pre-shortened the URL, so feel free to use http://slidesha.re/mo_so. 

 

 

Why Mobile Social Media Matters - Statistics, Trends, Technologies

View more presentations from David Berkowitz.

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Facebook Phone

Here's today's column that originally ran in MediaPost's Social Media Insider

There's a new debate about Facebook that's making echo chambers implode. No, it's not whether "Catfish" or "The Social Network" will prove to be the better Facebook movie, or whether David Fincher's next movie will be a remake of his own "Se7en" with Mark Zuckerberg as the serial killer. This time, it's about whether Facebook is developing a phone.

Despite Facebook's public denials, TechCrunch followed up its exclusive with a post deconstructing and debunking Facebook's spin. Facebook's PR team keeps saying it's not technically manufacturing a phone, which would be true. It's like if I say I'm not making Toll House cookies when I'm really just heating up the pre-made cookie dough; my end result is a batch of cookies just like Facebook's end result is a phone.

What's funny about all of this is that if TechCrunch is right and Facebook is developing its own branded phone, some of Facebook's denials become even more right. Consider this language from Facebook's official statement: "Our view is that almost all experiences would be better if they were social, so integrating deeply into existing platforms and operating systems is a good way to enable this." Even if this is, in the words of TechCrunch's Michael Arrington, "vague language Facebook will point back to later to show they weren't outright lying," it's a compelling argument for why Facebook doesn't need a phone at all.

If I'm playing the role of the judge here, the evidence I've seen for Facebook coming out with a phone is stronger than the evidence against it. There are several good reasons why Facebook shouldn't come out with a phone, though:

1) We already have a Facebook phone. It's called the phone. Facebook is one of the top applications in every major smartphone app store. Beyond that, Ground Truth reported that social media accounts for 60% of mobile web pageviews. I keep thinking back to a moment on a recent flight when I was next to the mother of a 13-year-old girl sitting behind us. Within 60 seconds of hitting the ground, not only did the daughter update her Facebook status, but her mom commented on it. Our current devices make Facebook plenty accessible.

2) We already have a Facebook phone. It's called Android. While Facebook's denials played up the iPhone connections, I like the Android integration even better. On Android, it's far easier to share photos and links through Facebook or other social properties, and syncing phone contacts with Facebook profiles is seamless. One of the 8,000 rumors about this Facebook Phone is that it's being built on Android, which would be the most logical option. Would a MySpace app be able to run on it, though? Internationally, would it welcome competitors like Mixi? More food for thought.

3) Facebook has the carrier relationships already. Facebook reports that there are more than 200 mobile operators in 60 countries deploying Facebook mobile offerings. On one hand, adding a Facebook phone could be a revenue generator for them, but on the other, it could complicate existing relationships. 

4) Remember Google's Nexus One? Thought so.

5) Facebook's future holds Zero promise. I love 0.facebook.com, the program allowing people in 45 countries to access a scaled-down version of Facebook without data charges. That's groundbreaking, far-reaching and potentially world-changing in the way it can allow people everywhere to communicate with each other. In other words, it's far more impactful than adding another phone to the marketplace.

6) How many phone commercials have you seen featuring Facebook? Just about any time a new phone comes out, at least one of the images or commercials includes a Facebook reference. Facebook is already changing how manufacturers are designing phones. What else can Facebook possibly want to change, the color of the handset?

The "will they or won't they" meter is tipping toward Facebook developing some kind of phone. Yet Facebook already has one of the most innovative, pervasive mobile offerings that works well without them designing the hardware. Odds are you own a Facebook phone already. If you're like me, you own two. The only way Facebook could be more easily accessible is if it becomes surgically implanted in your brain. I can't wait to see how Facebook denies that rumor.

Ten Reasons To Love Mobile Social Media

 
It's OK if you're not obsessed with mobile social media. I know I can get carried away, whether I'm spilling my Super Mayor confessions or taking too much pride in becoming the King of Disinfectant (take that, Lysol serfs!). Less publicly, I spent the summer working with my colleagues on 360i's Mobile Marketing Playbook that was just released today, which includes a meaty chapter on mobile social media.

Whether you're already sold on its importance or still could use more convincing, here are 10 reasons to love mobile social media.

1) It's still early. You're often dealing with consumers who are early adopters, and there's room to experiment. In such an environment, the upside of doing something groundbreaking tends to outweigh the downside of a flop, as long as it's planned to fit in with your goals and strategy.

2) It's mainstream. Facebook reports it has more than 150 million active mobile users globally. Are we there yet? Yes, we're there.

3) It's real  -- as in, it's part of the real world. You use mobile social media in conjunction with where you are and whatever you're doing, not just while you're online.

4) It brings people together in the real world. I remember years ago when I was demonstrating Twitter to a friend at a 4INFO party. After I sent a tweet via text message, someone came up to me and asked if I was David. Sure enough, it was a Twitter follower who caught my note saying I was at the party, and she wanted to make a real-world connection.  Fast-forward to a few weeks ago. I was in Portland, Ore. waiting on line at Voodoo Doughnuts when I checked Facebook Places and saw that my New York friend Mike Lee was having Chinese food nearby. I texted him and he came over before I made it to the front of the line. When these moments happen, they're memorable because they matter.

5) Complete strangers sometimes know best. Some people wonder why anyone would trust tips left by complete strangers through review sites and apps. Given that we trust mysterious algorithms to tell us which search engine results are relevant and we trust four out of five guys in lab coats on TV with their toothpaste recommendations, following tips random people leave at restaurants and bars is hardly a stretch.  I can rattle off great foods -- deviled eggs and bacon scones in New York, apple turnovers in San Francisco, grape-flavored doughnuts in Portland -- I've tried thanks to recommendations from people I don't know.

6) Mobile games are better with friends. The Words With Friends application became a massive hit by turning a mobile version of Scrabble into a multiplayer obsession. I wish all my favorite game apps, such as Angry Birds, had a social layer.

7) Real-world sharing is the best kind. I was just having drinks with MediaPost columnist Kaila Colbin and our valiant editor Phyllis Fine when the conversation ultimately turned to Cat Paint, an app I hailed as a "social media breakthrough" late last year. As I always do in such situations, I shared my favorite Cat Paint creations like a father who passes around baby pictures (someday, when I have kids, I will have to Cat Paint them so I can do both at once). While I can share the pictures through various social media sites, it's far more fun in a live setting.

8) Any mobile site or application can incorporate social media. Any mobile content worth sharing can be shared, whether through third-party registration such as Facebook Connect or links to post content to various social sites.

9) The canvas keeps getting bigger. Mobile social media is starting to change how people watch TV and movies, interact with products, find new businesses, determine directions to the store, and find the nearest bathroom. The use cases grow by the day.

10) If you can't beat it, join it. Beyond the 150 million Facebook mobile users --- a figure which is clearly much higher since Facebook last updated it -- consider the 60%  of mobile internet usage spent on social networking (Ground Truth) and the 240%  increase in social networking app usage year over year (comScore). Like it, love it, or remain totally baffled by it, but as a consumer trend it's here. Marketers, it's your call whether to ignore or embrace mobile social media.

Googley Lessons from Author Aaron Goldman

I knew Aaron Goldman when he was just some search-loving punk in short pants who'd crash the Search Insider Summits. Look at him now, a published author, free agent, and blog tourer.

To celebrate the debut his new book, Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google, he invited me to join his blog tour where he's appearing on 30 blogs in 10 days. We discussed Barack Obama, the lessons he's both applying and struggling with, and why the book isn't called Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Webcrawler (hint: the answer to that last one is NOT that the book name was taken).

The back of the book screams out, “Barack Obama Googled his way to the top of the political ladder.” Obama’s an interesting case study. What do you mean by that, and how should Obama use Google today now that his reputation has taken a hit?

 

I use Obama as the prime example in chapter 5, “Be Where Your Audience is.”  The idea is that you can’t expect your audience come to you or your branded destination. You have to take your brand to the place(s) the people you want to reach spend time and interact with them in that environment on their terms.

 

Google does this by making its search tools available wherever people are connected to the internet -- desktop, browser, toolbar, phone, etc. You don’t have to go to Google.com to google something.

 

During the 2008 campaign, Obama engaged his audience on a number of levels and in a number of places. His social media efforts were dizzying -- Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. The man was everywhere. Offline too. Along the way, he and his campaign did a great job of “laddering” up support.

 

In the book, I share the story of Scott Kier, who volunteered for the campaign and canvassed in Detroit. It was interesting to see how Scott was “laddered” up the chain from personal supporter to social supporter to full-on advocate.

 

So the idea that Obama Googled his way to the top of the ladder is a bit of a play on words, something I do quite a bit on the book. I’ve been told I have a pun-derful writing style.

 

As for what Obama should do now, I’m not going to take the bait and get political. But I will say I’ve been impressed that he’s continued to use social media to spread his message and push his agenda.

 

Is this book available in Google Book Search? If not, what are you waiting for?

 

I’m currently the #1 listing on Books.Google.com for “Everything I Know about Marketing I Learned from Google.”

 

But I suspect you’re asking if I’ve made the full text available to Google, aye?

 

Alas, that’s out of my hands and something for my publisher to decide. I’m not sure what McGraw-Hill’s  policy is here but, if they asked for my opinion, I’d tell them not to do it.

 

I know, I know. I’m such a hypocrite. Chapter 17 is “Show Off Your Assets” and I advocate for digitizing and distributing everything. But I don’t want Google profiting from my work.

 

Sheesh, I sound like Rupert Murdoch!

 

In what ways are you applying the lessons of this book to promoting it?

 

In chapter 5 I talk about the “Hub and Spoke model” that Obama used in his campaign.

 

I’ve put that into play with my book by creating a hub at GoogleyLessons.com and setting up spokes where my audience is -- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, this blog and the 29 others included in my “blog tour.”

 

My goal is to engage potential readers wherever they happen to be and give them some valuable content that will make them want to spend more time -- specifically 341 pages of time -- with me.

 

Did you learn anything from Yahoo or Bing or Ask.com or Webcrawler or Dogpile? Anything at all?

 

I learned a lot of what NOT to do from these guys.

 

Yahoo - how NOT to quit when you’re down. (Competing with Google on search is tough. We give up!)

 

Bing - how NOT to overpromise and underdeliver. (Decision engine? Hardly.)

 

Ask.com - how NOT to throw the baby out with the bathwater. (I miss Jeeves!)

 

Webcrawler - how NOT to do M&A. (AOL, Excite, InfoSpace, oh my!)

 

Dogpile - how NOT to create a brand. (Tell me you’re not picturing a pile of dog sh*t!)

 

Of the lessons you write as your chapter title, which do you have the hardest time following?

 

“Let the Data Decide.” I have a bit of Don Draper in me. Sometimes I just want to say, “Screw the research” (although Draper would also screw the researcher) and go with my gut.

 

Have you figured out how to autograph e-book editions of this?

 

I think there’s a new sharpie that will do the trick. Can I test it on your iPad?

 

What would Google do? Just asking…

 

Hire me? Just sayin’…

 

 

BDI's Mobile Social Communications Event Coming September 15 (partner plug)

This blog has been a frequent media sponsor of BDI events, and I'm really excited about this one given how it fits in with two of my favorite areas: mobile and social marketing. Below are promo codes for the event and hotel.

For more information, including registration, please click here to visit the event website. Use promo code MS for a discounted rate of $155.

Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. 
Location: The Graduate Center of The City University of NY; 365 Fifth Avenue; New York, New York 10016 
Registration Fee: $195
Website: http://www.bdionline.com/mobilesocial.html

About the Event: 
Mobile Social is more than the latest land grab in marketing. It's where online meets offline; and, it's proving to be one of the biggest opportunities for marketers and communicators to actually build one-on-one relationships with customers while increasing sales. New mobile social platforms allow brands to tailor messages and product offerings to consumers based on their location and loyalty. Our half day conference will share the best case studies of how real brands are achieving tangible business goals integrating mobile social strategies into their overall marketing and communications approach. 

We will address the following questions:

• What are the best examples of how leadings brands use mobile social strategies to achieve business goals?
• How are mobile social platforms such as Facebook, Yelp, Foursquare, Gowalla, Groupon, and Buzzd working with brands to connect with consumers?
• How do you integrate mobile social strategies into your enterprise's marketing and communications platform?
• How do you overcome challenges from extending existing social media platforms into the mobile space?
• Who are the leading agencies and technology players that have experience in helping brands create and execute mobile social strategies?

Keynote Case Study: 
Eric Friedman, Director of Client Services, Foursquare

Case Study Presenters & Roundtable Moderators: 
Justin Bazan, Owner and Operator, Park Slope Eye
David Berkowitz, Director of Emerging Media & Client Strategy, 360i
BJ Emerson, Social Technology Officer, Tasti D-Lite LLC
Eric Friedman, Director of Client Services, Foursquare
Kelly McCarthy, Ruder Finn, Inc.
Nihal Mehta, CEO and Founder, Buzzd
Brian Reich, Managing Director, little m media
Paul Reich, Director of East Coast Sales, Yelp
Brian Simpson, Assistant Director of Food & Beverage & Social Hospitality, The Roger Smith Hotel
David Weiner, Senior Account Supervisor, PR Newswire & Founder, DigitalSomethings
Rick Wion, Head of Social Media, McDonald's

We have limted opportunities for sponsors and speakers to participate in this program. Please contact Valesco Raymond at [email protected] or 212-765-8357 for additional information.

Hotel Sponsor: Roger Smith Hotel: Use promo code BDI10SEP for 10% off rate.

Sponsors: 
PR Newswire / MultiVu; Foursquare; McDonald's; Tasti D-Lite; Yelp; KIT digital; BtoB; BlogTalkRadio; DigitalSomethings; International Association of Business Communicators - New Jersey; International Association of Business Communicators - New York; MarketersStudio;  Mashable; New York American Marketing Association; New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies; Reputation Garage; SobelMedia ; Social2B; Social Media Advertising Consortium; Social Media and The Big W       

For more information, including registration, please click here to visit the event website. Use promo code MS for a discounted rate of $155.

A Reason to Care about Social Media

Originally published in MediaPost's Social Media Insider

"Her surgery is tomorrow morning and she's not at all nervous! Please say a prayer for her and think of her tomorrow at 7:30 when surgery begins." -- Sept. 1, 11:15 a.m.

This was the first entry posted on the site "Heal Fast Billie" hosted on CarePages through the hospital where a preteen I know just had surgery. CarePages offers these private blogs either directly or through more than 625 North American healthcare facilities. I'd heard of it before, but it was hard to fully appreciate until I had a personal connection. For the past week, I've been glued to Billie's site, checking updates almost as frequently as I've accessed Facebook. (Note that names of friends and family are changed here to protect their privacy.)

"We just met with the doctor who seemed really really pleased with everything. They are 'closing her up' now." -- Sept. 2, 2:41 p.m.

As I write this, the community for Billie has attracted 61 visitors and 104 public comments. Her mom publishes updates several times daily. I don't get to see Billie and her parents that often, so without this I'd have probably heard the result of the surgery but little more. Now, while she lives several states away from me, I have this ongoing connection, and with all the positive news I've come to look forward to the results.

"I'm sure there's a more tech-savvy way to do this... but I just took pictures of Billie's x-rays and posted them to the Photo Gallery. The contrast in pre/post op images is remarkable. As I said earlier, Billie was especially happy when she saw these x-rays, even in her very groggy, post op state. All really great." -- Sept. 3, 3:47 p.m. 

The CarePages sites are hardly fancy, but they're extremely functional. Billie's mom quickly figured out how to run her own community, one with a small but devoted following. The photos of x-rays are remarkable, as are the pictures of Billie. Even if Billie won't put all these photos on Facebook someday, she loves sharing them with this intimate group.

"Dudes!!!! I didn't notice any virtual bagels or I wouldn't have sent them. I am feeling very bright and sunny myself just knowing all is well with you. Will try to make it in for a visit Tuesday. Remember Billie, walk before you run! Much love." -- A response to a post on Sept. 5

As with any great blog, the comments are required reading. I know several of the people who write them but don't know most others. Even though I have no clue who wrote the note about virtual bagels, it's personally reassuring seeing that this couple is a part of Billie's life.

The more I visit the site, the more it reminds me what's truly remarkable about social media. It's about people coming together to connect around something - or someone - they care about. Sharing media here, whether status updates or photos, is practically effortless. All participants can respond, giving them a greater investment in the community. The cause doesn't even have to be as lofty as the recovery of a loved one. Facilitating this kind of involvement around other passion points like recipes or travel advice can be powerful for those participating. Yet CarePages offers that crystal-clear reminder of how social media can bring people together in ways that weren't possible several years ago.

For those running communities, whether as a marketer, technology vendor, or any kind of community manager, the biggest lesson you can learn from CarePages is to make it as easy as possible for the target users to do what they're supposed to do. In this case, it's about sharing text updates, posting photos, and responding to posts. Personally, I'd love to see other features, like the ability for organizers to send updates via text messaging or custom apps, and easy ways for visitors to send virtual and physical gifts. I'm quickly getting into columnist mode, though; I don't know firsthand how much those matter to the target users of CarePages. The simplicity seems to work for Billie's mom.

CarePages is just one way to do it. It's also possible to run similar communities through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging platforms, forums and countless other means. That only reinforces how far we've come and how meaningful social media can be. The only thing more exciting for me is that we're just getting started, and there's so much more good we can do.

We can return one final time to Billie's mom, who was more eloquent than I could be. She wrote after the surgery, "I'm so busy thinking about Billie that I completely forgot thank all of you who are/were thinking about Billie today and wishing her well. Today was about as perfect as it could have been and knowing that she had so many people pulling for her, really means so much to us."